Monday Coffee in North Lawndale offers community, chess to eager crowd

The owners of Monday Coffee never wanted to open a coffee shop because the responsibility of managing a brick-and-mortar business wasn't attractive to CEO Amanda Harth and head roaster Felton Kizer.

But six months after opening in November 2024, Harth and Kizer have found their North Lawndale space has become a community hub, hosting packed events like weekly chess tournaments and live music. It's an environment they take great pride in.

The spot, at 3243 W. 16th St., is also known for its behind-the-counter roaster, with beans sourced from Mexico and Africa. It's menu includes drinks like a brown sugar cardamom latte and a dirty cold brew.

The Black-owned company started as a cold brew business by hosting pop-ups around the time of protests over the murder of George Floyd.

“It was a pandemic project where we used coffee as a vehicle to keep people connected and foster community,” Harth said.

The company's bottled brews sold out within its first week.

“I was like, ‘Coffee would be really helpful for protesters, especially cold brew, because there’s no sugar, just straight energy. But also, coffee is black anyway; so it just makes sense. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is going to be a Black summer,” Kizer said, a photographer who also shoots Monday Coffee’s social media content.

After several successful pop-ups around Chicago, the partners were approached by Duo Development to open a cafe at Starling, a community center with rentable spaces such as a terrace and sound studio.

“We met Duo, and they shared their idea of what they wanted to build. And I was like, ‘Oh, great, I could do that. That's not a coffee shop,’” Kizer said. Plus, it would be less transactional compared to their pop-ups where the focus was often "getting customers ... in and out."

“That people can just come sit in, read and do whatever and not even entertain the coffee aspect of it. That was very important for us because we knew that in this era of coffee shops, they’re no longer third spaces,” he said.

Opening the space also meant partnering with groups that aligned with the founders' interests. It's how Chess Coffee Chicago came to host games every Tuesday.

“Being an anchor tenant in this historically disinvested community is letting people know that they can just come in and sit down,” Harth said. “A lot of people still feel like, when this shiny new thing is in their neighborhood that they’ve been in, sometimes, most of their life, they’re like, ‘What is this? You know, can I come here? Can I come here and be at peace, or am I allowed?’ We’ve gotten that question — is this a space for me?”

On a daily basis, most seats are taken at Monday Coffee. On Tuesdays, a long table in the sunroom area is packed with chess players. The requirements are simple; you just have to want to play chess.

“It’s been a welcoming place, and it’s cool to be in a new community hub,” said John Hanna, an artist and one of the organizers of the chess group.

“We meet amazing people here every time,” said Julia Papillon, a content creator and another organizer. “Every time we're here, it's always something beautiful. It's always just a great event, a great experience.”

Other popular events include chess after dark, bar and vinyl takeovers and even a "coffee and cardigans" pop-up.

Harth and Kizer said they look forward to celebrating their first summer in the space, with plans to possibly add bike racks and open the patio. And, for now, there are no plans to open new locations.